Automatic tile presses



Dec. 25, 1956 F. DuBols ETAL AUTOMATIC TILE PRESSES 3 Sheets-Sheet lFiled Dec. 29, 1952 Wwf/Waar FKA N Z D05 0 /S FIL/'X ENMAN/v A fry.

Dec. 25, 1956 F. DUBOIS ErAL 2,775,016

AUTQMATIC TILE: PRESSESl Filed Dec. 29.' 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 wrm/rap@FRANZ Duna/s FEL/x WGMANN Dec. 25, 1956 F. DuBois ETAL AUTOMATIC TILEPRESSES Filed Deo. 29. 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FEL/'X ENG/YANN u ATTY.

AUTOMATIC TILE PRESSES Franz Dubois and Felix Engmann, Aachen, Germany,assgnors to Dubois & Co., Aachen, Germany, a firm Application December29, 1952, Serial No. 328,462

Claims priority, application` Germany December 29, 1951 s Claims. (c1.zs-4z) The present invention relates to presses for the manufacture ofwall, floor, and other tiles, and in particular to the design `andmotion of the tile lifting and filling means' for such presses.

With the hitherto known presses, these devices generally operate byjerk-s, thus causing considerable breakage among the pressed tiles. Itis moreover difficult to perform such settings Iand adjustments of theaforesaid devices as are required for altering the iilling' spacecapacity. l

Presses of the known designs are objectionable particularly with regardto the arrangement and motion of their tile lifting means, which yon theone hand operates in a direct manner whereby the pressed tile, while thelram carrying the upper die is raised, will be pulled out of the pressmold, thereby tending to cause damage to the lower edge of tile. On theother hand, the lower die will have to be raised by about V16 in. to AGin. above the press mold and then allow it to lower until it rests on acatch which holds the lower die in its raised position flush with thepress mold so that the pressed tile may be pushed off.

This mode lof operation results in several grave disadvan- Through thelower die falling upon the aforesaid vfurther disadvantages byintroducing a positive and mechanically operated motion for the tilelifting and lling means, yand by designing the latter in a manner to bev hereinafter described.

According to the present invention, these two devices receive theirmotion from the ram which carriesvthe upper die and which, by means ofvertical tie rods guided bythe press table, carries within the pedestala cross beam which is provided both with driving elements for roperatingthe i lifter rod carrying the lower die and with a vertical tooth rackwhich imp-arts the required reciprocating motion 4to the horizontallyguided filling slide by mean-s of a gear mechanism and a rocking lever.Through this arrangement, the various movements can be exactlysynchronized in the desired fashion while lthe individual parts may bedesigned in a simple, robust and dustproof manner.

According to the invention, the lifter rod is composed of an upper and alower part which are screwed togetherA Upon loosening thus forming aseparable connection. of the screw connection, the rod can easily bedismantled by extracting the upper part through the press table and theIlower part through the pedestal, so that the pit ordinarily requiredfor the known types of press may be dispensed with.

The lifting elements for the lifter rod consist of-A an upper and alower pair of tilting levers which are separably connected with eachother and which arejointly United States Patent O Patented Dec. 25, 1956mounted on the cross beam and constituting the driving elements for thelevers, while the lower pair of ytilting levers engages the lifter rod'through a vdriver vertically adjustable on the rod. f f

The pairs of tilting levers are in engagement by means of. clutchesprovided on their pivot pin, the upper levers being slidable on thepivot pin in axial direction against the action of springs, and avertically adjustable wedge being provided on the cross beam which,while lifter rod and lower die are in theiruppermost position, will atthe proper 4moment force apart the levers of the upper pair with the aidof rollers provided on the levers, thus dis- -engaging the clutches andreleasing the levers ofthe lower pair that support the lifter rod.

In the upward travel the cross beam through its rollers causes the pairs-of tilting levers to lswing to such an extent that the lower leverswill lift the lifter rod together with the lower die to such a degreethat the latter is brought int-o alignment with the face of the moldingframe. When the ram together with the cross beam suspended from itcontinues the upward movement, the rollers mounted on i the cross beamslide on the faces -of the upper levers in sucha manner that the lowerdie will be mechanically held exactly level with the press mold surfaceuntil the pivoted on a single fulcrum member arranged parallel to*pressed ltile has been pushed olf and the filling grate of the fillingslide is positioned exact-ly above the lower die. At this point theaforesaid control wedge will force apart the upper pair yofpivotedlevers and disengage the clutch, thus releasing the lower pairsof levers and allowing the lower die together with the lifter rod torelapse intov its initial position.

Through vertical adjustment of a front plate that carries the pivot pinof the tilting levers, the lifting device may be easily adapted fromoutside to any alteration of the filling space of the press mold, thusdispensing with the tedious adjustment that had hitherto to be madeinside the pedestal. y

The casing for the gear mechanism of the lling device which is actuatedby the vertical tooth rack mounted on the cross beam of the ram, isscrewed -to the rear side of the pedestal in a rmanner to be verticallyadjustable. It is fastened to the lower end of a vertically adjust-ablepost passing through the table and carries, together with a supportprovided on the gear casing, the filling device. Through thisarrangement, an accurate and speedy vertical adjustment of the fillingdevice, and in particular of the filling slide, in respect to the pressmold will be ensured.

The present invention furthermore provides between the filling slide andthe gear mechanism a clutch which v is automatically disengaged when theram is moved bey-ond its regular uppermost position, this beingnecessary whenever the press elements have to be cleaned and whenreplacements or repairs are to be made. On disengaging the clutch, thefilling slide can be withdrawn by hand from the press. When restartingthe press, the clutch is automatically re-engaged irrespective rof theposition in which the filling slide may nd itself. v

The drawings illustrate -a preferred embodiment of a tile press providedwith lifting and lling means according to this invention.

Fig. 1 shows the lower portion of such a press, partly in view andpartlyin section.

Fig. 2 is a section of the lower portion of the press at right angles toFig. 1, showing also the filling means and its 4gear mechanism as wellas the lifting means.

Fig. 2a is a view of a detail in various working positions.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the gear mechanism as seen in thedirection ofthe ar-row III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section along the line IV--IV of Fig. 2.

u'in engagement.

Vtwo oppositely disposed rollers 27 cooperating with a: (wedge 28. VThewedge 28 is fastened in a vertically adt. of the ram at the proper ratioto the-filling dev ice.

filling device consists of the horizontally rec1procat1ngI The ram 1 isvertically guided in the press frame 2 and carries the upper die 3.Attached to the ram 1 are two tie rods 4 which are guided by and passthrough the press table S into the pedestal 6,"wheretheycarry;a crossbeam 7.

The cross beam 7 is guided ywithin the pedestal 6.on. adjustable rails Sand is rpreferably.'provided with-four pairs `of rollers g runningonthesaid rai-ls.

1t) is the press mold in which slidesfthe .lowerfdiel 1E which ismounted at the upper'end -of the 'lifter rod 12 which is guided by acentral bush 13 of. table 5 and' by' a bush located in the crossbeam 7.The -lifter'rodconsists of an upper part'12a and'ta'low'er partx12b.:The two parts of the lifterfr'odrarelprovitled with a'fborecontaining ascrew 14 which iss'cre'wed with'.its'flupperV end V4into the upper'part12a and -by its head l14 'and a'holding plate 15 supports the lower part12b. The'tworparts of i the rod, Y12a`and'12b,=`are held 'togetherIby:the said screw 14. y

` The lowe-r -part 12b fof -t-he lifter 'rod' l1,2'carries'von a4`threaded portion an adjustable-nutl which -isfprovided with tworollers 17 and'fiserves as lajdriver'forlthellifter rod.

`rThe lifting motion of the lifter'f'rod is producedV vby two rollers 19which arepivoted bynieans` of pins 18 'in the cross beam 7 andpressfagainst'oblique faces 21'yofv an "upper pairof tilting levers Ztl,which in turni-act on a lower Ipavir of tilting levers' 22 which 'engagenut '1%7- and'through same raise the lifter 'rod V12 together with thelower die 11. The facesV 21 also serve'to `hold the' lifter rod 12 inits uppermost positionwiththelower Vdie ,11" in alignment with'the faceof the press mold 10.. 'This' is attained by the r0llers19 'on thevcross-beam 7` lsliding during the further'upward travel of the crossbeam along the faces 21, as illustrated in Fig. 2a, thus'y maintainingthe die 11 level with the mold surfaceuntrl the filling slide haspushedoff the pressed tile while con:-

veying fresh vfilling /material onto the lower die.

The upper" and lower pairs of tilting levers 2t) and 22' "are pivotablymounted `on a fulcrum memberV 23V in a lfront plate24 and their hubs-form a clutch 25.

Two springs -26 surrounding the pin 23 serve to keep the clutch Theupper levers furthermore carry justable fashion by means of an angle 29to the cross beam '7. At`the moment when the filling slide is, to.gether with the filling material, positionedabove the lower'die 11, thelwedge 28 by way of the rollers 27 presses the `upper leverspZll apartso as to disengage the `clutch V25,thereby releasing the lower levers-22' and VHallowing the lifter rodl 12 and the diev 11, asvwellas thefilling material carried by the latter, to fall down.4 During thesubsequent pressing operati-on, theram 1 will in its downward travel'andby lmeans. ofthe cross'beam 7 conveythe' aforesaid lifting elementsback into vtheir initial position. l Buffer springs 30 limit the tiltingmovement of thel levers 20 and 22 so that the members ofthe clutch 2Swill always be in the proper engagingposition.

For varying the thickness of the tiles to bepressed, in which case thedie 11 has to be raised to a corresponding'higher-or lower level, frontplate'241supporting the Y lever pairs 20, 22 is vertically adjusted fromoutsidel by means of set screws (not shown).

The cross beam 7V has fastened to its rear side a vertical tooth rack 37transmittingthe up-'and-down movement The filling slide 3S which atevery forward stroke conveys the requisite quantity of material for thepress mold 10 out of a supply hopper 39. The slide 38 moves on a base4t) serving as guide track. This-part 40 isl supported at the front byapost 41 which is yguided vertically by key and slot in the table 5 andmay be vertically adlower end -of the post 41, a casing 44 is fastenedwhich encloses the gear mechanism transmitting the motion .from thetooth rack 37 of the ram 7 to the filling slide .38. The casing 44 isbolted to the rear side of the press pedestal 6. It carries a bracket 45which serves to supvport the rear end ofrthefbase 40 of the fillingdevice. By adjusting the post 41', theylling slide together with thegear casing=-H44`--may besetl inexact-relation to the press mold 10. 4 nw The lengthtofstrokeof the'filling slide istrnuch greater than that ofthe ram. If the latter amounts for instance to 4 ing"thele'rigthtof-"strokefofithelfillingslidewill be .1136s in..-'Accordingly,-the gearwatio .requirem-forpthe transmission -ofrnotionwill have to be 1 to `3.4. In the embodimenuillustrated thewgeari-ng iscomposed of four gear wheels 46, 47, 48 and 49 which are contained inthe Casing 44. The first gear wheel 46 engages the ,tooth rack 37through recesses in the casing 44. and the pedestal 6. The last gearwheel is mounted'loose `onits ,shaft 50 which .carries outside thecasing 44 two rocking levers 51 that are connected by means of guiderods `52. with hangers 53 on theflling slide 38.

If the pressing elements are to be cleaned or repaired, thefspacebetween the press mold face and the ram being .zin its normal uppermostposition .will not suffice. Morelover, while lthe ram is` in thiselevated position, the.` filling .slidewill be positioned above thepress mold. In this ,-case,the `ram will have tobe raised beyond itsnormal t 'uppermost position and the slide must be withdrawn from 'i'the pressmold. To this end, a clutch 54 has been pro- :vided betweenthe shaft 50, to the ends of which the rocking levers 51.are fastened,andthe gear `wheel-49 that is mounted looseon the lshaft 50.. Thisclutch'54 .-through spring pressure normally couples the `shaftiS35.,.frigidly with the lgeiarwheel.49. Thisclutch 54. is;v in

zl engagement withtoneA endgof ay disengaging lever-` 55,--the rftotherend of which is under the ya'ction'of acamz-disc S6-.which is rigidly.connected with ;the. gear 4wheel.'48. I'Iffthe ram 1 is raised fortheYabove-mentionedreason fzbeyond its;topposition, thecorrespondinggear-mecha- `mism 46-49 .disengages the clutch 54 by way ofthe camA@dise-.56 andthe leverl 55, thus releasing the shaft=to gether withthe. rockingy levers 51, so .thattthe filling slide @-338 may .bewithdrawn.- `from .the press. Sufhcient Ispace :chas nowy been.createdto claim to cleanor repair-the pressing elements, or even toreplacelthellifter- Y1od`12, -;..=.the-upperV .part ofy whichttwillr beremoved Ithrough the wtable: in an upwardftdirection asfhereinbeforestated. lUponcompletion of4 the .cleaning -andsepairl work and 50i'uponV restarting the press, theY ram -will .on returning `into itsnormal position cause re-engagement'of the clutch 54 rby- -way ofethe-gearl mechanismv and they camedisc 56, fthereby t reestablishingf' the;f driving 'connection between g'flling slideeoonsists of wheel guiderails screwed to the --pre`ssframe,vthe base 40, according to theinvention, is designedl asa compact -cast frame; incorporating V guidesl-v5'7 of 'the ball bearingv V'way typegwhile 'the fffilling-slide' 38 isitself providedwithcorresponding in- *The y4mass impetus of the 'fillingslide38 'in its return movement is absorbed by adjustableA buffers 59mounted in` the bracket'45 as well as by two `buffers'll'mounted -at thelrear end of the slide.

lThis specific mode of actuating the=lling slide from the ram over thegear mechanism, the favorable `'bearing ofthelfillingslide forrball Vways, as well asthe Vcompen- "sation'of the Afilling slide .impactby'means ofb'uffers, "render the operation of the filling yslidesmooth,Asilent,

justed by means of a. rackrt-Z and pinion' 43.` To the 75 and free fromjerkiness, thereby substantially increasing the potential working speedand, ultimately, raising the output.

The operation of the press is as follows: By power means, not shown, theram 1 with the upper die 3 is vertically reciprocated with predeterminedstrokes and all movements of the tile lifting means and of the fillingmeans are derived from the said reciprocating movement of the ramthrough the mechanisms described and shown. During the pressing of atile the lower die 11 assumes its lowermost position in the m-old andthe upper die 3 acts lon the mass in the mold, the ram being `at thelower limit of its downward stroke. The filling slide 38 is at thismoment in its yrearrnost position (Fig. 2). After the pressing the rambegins its upward stroke and in this movement takes along with it thelifting rod 12 with the die 11 so that the die lifts the tile out of themould. When the die comes to lie iiush with the top surface of the mold,it is held in this position and its further upward movement isinterrupted while the ram continutes its upward travel causing therebythe iilling slide to be shifted forward. In this shifting movement theslide pushes ed the ejected tile and when its grate filled with the massto be pressed is above the mold, the lifter rod 12 with the die 11 isreleased and drops into its lower initial position, while at the sametime the mass to be pressed falls into the mold. The movement lof theram is now reversed and it begins its downward stroke. In the firstphase of this downward movement the filling slide recedes to itsoutermost position and the ram with the upper die in the continueddownward travel performs the pressing of the tile in the mold 10,whereupon a new cycle begins.

What we claim is:

1. An automatic tile press comprising in combination a mold, an upperdie carried by a vertically reciprocating ram, a lower die seated on alifter rod, a horizontally reciprocating filling slide, and liftingelements for the lifter rod, a pair of spaced parallel tie rods fastenedto and extending from the ram through the press table into the presspedestal and carrying therein a cross beam, means on this cross beam foroperating the lifting elements of the lifter rod and a vertical toothrack on the cross beam in operative engagement with a toothed gearingadapted to actuate rocking levers connected with the filling slide forimparting the required horizontal reciprocating movement to the same;said lifting elements for the lifter rod including an upper and lowerpair of tilting levers which Iare jointly and pivotally mounted on asingle fulcrurn member arranged parallel to the said cross beam, theupper pair of levers being provided with cam faces which are in contactwith rollers that are mounted on the cross beam and constitute thedriving element for the said levers, and the lower pair of leversengaging a vertically adjustable driver mounted on the lifter rod, saidpairs of tilting levers being in engagement on their pivot pins by meansof clutches, with the upper levers being slidable on the pivot pins inan axial direction, yand the cross beam being provided with a verticallyadjustable wedge which is adapted to cooperate with rollers on thelevers ofthe upper pair for forcing these levers apart when the lifterrod with the lower die is in its top position and thereby disengage theclutches between the upper and lower levers and release the latter fromtheir lifter rod supporting position.

2. A tile press as claimed in claim l, in which the pivot pins of thetilting levers are mounted in a vertically adjustable front plate on thepress pedestal.

3. An automatic tile press comprising in combination a mold, an upperdie carried by a vertically reciprocating ram, a lower die seated on Ialifter rod, a horizontally reciprocating filling slide, and liftingelements for the lifter rod, a pair of spaced parallel tie rods fastenedto and extending from the ram through the press table into the presspedestal land carrying therein a cross beam, means on this cross beamfor operating the lifting elements of the lifter rod, and a verticaltooth rack on the cross beam in operative engagement with a toothedgearing adapted to -actuate rocking levers connected with the fillingslide for imparting the required horizontal recip rocating movement tothe same, said rocking levers which actuate the iilling slide beingmounted on the shaft of the last gear wheel of the said toothed gearing,and a clutch between said last mentioned gear wheel and the said rockinglevers, said clutch being adapted to be automatically disengaged by acam disk connected with that gear wheel of the toothed gearing whichmeshes with the last gear wheel.

References Cited in the le of this rpatent UNITEDv STATES PATENTS331,420 Mathiason Dec. 1, 1885 374,938 Carman Dec. 20, 1887 553,884 WoodFeb. 4, 1896 725,025 Bishop Apr. 14, 1903 789,129 Rider May 2, 19051,777,660 Dahl Oct. 7, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 74,675 Austria Apr. 15, 191743,887 Netherlands Aug. 15, 1938

